I was 6 years old when this came out. My parents got it for me and i loved it so much. It was my all time favorite game on super nintendo. Im 32 now, and i still play multiple playthroughs of it on my rg351p. What a time for gaming. 90s and early 2000s were the golden years of gaming. And music. ;)
Total Agreement. Growing in the 90s with these games and seeing games evolve until they peaked which is now imo was a real treat. I feel sorry for kids now but hey they at least get to experience the classics with us.
I was about 16 when this game debuted. It is truly an amazing game and i think it deserves more credit for being the first 3d mario being the 1st to implement platforming. Great review!
As an 11 year old boy who up until that point had never played an RPG in his life, I was so excited to play Super Mario ‘Rocket Powered Grenade’: Legend of the Seven Stars when this first came out (as that was the only entry listed under RPG in the Merriam-Webster dictionary at the time). It was not until I read the instruction booklet that I realized, much to my relief, that Mario, in fact, was not going to be sporting a rocket launcher in the game and that RPG in fact meant role playing game in this context (honestly I had no clue what role playing game meant either, but it still sounded a lot better overall).
Rocket Propelled Grenade never occurred to me. Good thing Mario didn't sport this or a sword either. Oh well, thanks for coming by. I did a similar video on Mario 64 so enjoy it at your leisure!
Thanks! Me too re: the sword. I am currently watching your TLoZ:OoT retrospective, but am having to take it in chunks as it is a rather long one. I did watch your SM64 retrospective and liked it a great deal as well.
That was a really good video. It’s too bad that we never got a sequel to this. Hopefully Mario RPG 2 actually becomes real. I like the art style this game has. It’s really interesting how it laid the groundwork for Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi. The Mario spin-offs definitely have some really interesting stories. Even though it doesn’t really count my favorite Mario “rpg” was Super Paper Mario because of how crazy the story was. It was a lot of fun. Too bad that game never got a proper sequel and Nintendo made that dumb rule about no more unique stories/original characters. Good luck on your other videos.
@@Kinshinobi yep it was marketed that way and as a sweet summer child then, thought it really was the case. Still like Paper Mario but it didn't have the gravitas of SMRPG
When I saw "retrospective" I expected more opinions on the game, but I am pleasantly surprised of the approach of narrating what happens in the game Good stuff
The hammer was a power up in the donkey Kong games from the 1980s. They may of used the hammer because Mario used it to smash the rolling barrels in that game.
Thank you so much. This game was such an unforgettable part of my summer. Made me really happy as opposed to a lot of other things at that time. Truly wonderful time playing it.
Wondeful video and i do hope more people see this. SMRPG was one of my favorite SNES games of all time and i would play it again any chance i get. Ill recommend this video to anyone who wants to learn about classic Mario games
I didn't play this as a kid. I finally played it when the SNES Classic came out. It's a pretty special game. I don't have a Nintendo Switch, but the remake looks spectacular.
1:06:52 -- dude what version of snes9x or zsnes were you using? Because modern versions of snes9x and higan and others make the blade destruction and other sounds sound sooooo much better
The old school Mario behind the curtain in Booster's Tower was my fav easter egg as a kid!! I got SMRPG for about $20 in 1998 from Toys R Us. Played for about 18 hrs straight and beat it. I owned FF3 (FFVI) before SMRPG, and didnt understand it. After Mario, FF3 turned into my fav turn based RPG of all time, thanks to Mario RPG being a great tutorial RPG!
70 bucks at Toys R Us when this game first came out. 69.99 more expensive than all the other games in that catalog. Insane. I'd still buy it. Loved the Easter Eggs. Didn't play FFVI for several years after. I got more retrospectives like this if you're interested. Ocarina and Mario 64 for starters
@@NerdporealI've seen old ads for some Super NES games priced at 80 or 90 US$. A chip shortage drove up prices. Or rather, the stores drove up the prices becuz they could thanks to the chip shortage / low stock.
@@Nerdporeal I thought the norm was 50. Me and my friends were upset in the early 2000s that the normal price jumped from 50 to 60 during the GameCube era. But really, it was still far cheaper than even the same 50 back in 1985 when the price of Nintendo games originated
This game was my childhood. Unfortunately at the time, I was not the best at solving some puzzles. Some clicked. Some didn't click. The underwater ship puzzle was one of them. If it weren't for that damn 3D maze, I would've had an easier time solving it. The second thing was my stubbornness. When I got to moleville, I got the work pants for everyone since it increased my attack power. For the first two times I played through this game, I didn't get any other armor for them. I did not want to give up the attack increase. The third thing was a complete misunderstanding on my part. The part where he talks about the bonus stat increases. Every level up I got, I always increased my HP. I didn't know you could select Attack or Special attack. I thought the attack and special attack icons were a part of the level up banner so I didn't think to move the cursor over to them. So by the time my characters were in the twenties, their HP was maxed out at 255 (254 for Mallow). Had a lot of health, but took a lot of damage. My inventory was almost nothing but Pick Me Ups. The game was still fun to play. But man did I not make it easy for myself.
I made all those same mistakes. I forgot about the work pants increasing attack power. 3D maze is annoying but a cool concept. Sunken ship took me awhile initially too. Have you played the remake? Do you think it did the game justice?
@@Nerdporeal Yes i just finished the main story. Other than the unnecessary name changes, I think they did do the game justice. Currently working on the after game stuff. BIG WARNING about that. BE READy for a difficulty spike.
Honestly Im not sure exactly why but this game has really won me over the past year. There's just something about it, I still think it's a little basic but at the end of the day it's forgiveable since its an old ass game, first of its kind Mario-wise, there's still a lot of zany stuff happening and the world is surprisingly varied. Meaning to get the remake soon.
I must have listened to this so many times while falling asleep. Please do a comparison/retrospective with the remake when you've finished it (I'm assuming you're going to play it). Also any plans for Earthbound or Breath of Fire 3 hour plus retrospectives? I'd be very happy for those ✌️
At some point. If you like Zelda, I did a five hour retrospective on ocarina of time. There's a 45 minute Mario 64 one I did too. That vid doesn't get enough love
I got this game as a 6th grade graduation present in May 1996. I was 12 at the time and played it all summer long! This game is my childhood and I made it a rule to replay it once every year... Until I sold it along with my SNES in 2007. Boy did I regret that decision... As luck would have it I received an SNES Classic Edition as a birthday present in 2018 and can relive my childhood again! The fact this is not available on Nintendo Switch Online is a crime! That's one reason this game is just so coveted nowadays.
Thanks for sharing this! You are a year ahead of me! Why this isn't on Switch online is baffling but Nintendo has been there own worst enemy for years.
@@Nerdporeal Which is why I am so thankful for my SNES Classic! It's the closest thing to getting the authentic original SNES experience in my opinion. Though I did notice a few differences between the original SNES release and the Classic Edition one. In the Classic Edition version some of the magic attack effects, like "Static E" and "Flame Wall" were toned down a little, probably due to them possibly being seizure inducing. Ah, the 90's.
I wish they just add a difficulty that is the same as the original. No switching party in fight and no combo abilities. So you can really feel the same as before with better graphics. This was really a masterpiece remake tho.
No I didnt. I actually reacted to that direct in a live stream so my reaction is for all to see. Check it out and i hope you check out the rest of the channel and find something that interests you. I will be covering the remake. Stay Nerdporeal!
Same I will play it and stream it when it is out in time for my birthday. Thanks for checking this out and Hope you check out my other nintendo content if interested and stay Nerdporeal!
I was like....what the hell is going on in that castle all this time! I honestly thought Toadstool and Koopa were held prisoner in the castle or lost in it. Surprised when Frogfucius reveals they are no longer there! Love Yoko Shimomuras castle theme, up there with Koji Kondos Super Mario World Castle Variation.
@@Nerdporeal LoL I'm talking about them hopping off the bus and people cheering them on and it being such a dark scary place but you're more confident now due to experience so you feel heroic.
1:21:20 Yes- there was a follow up to it. There’s actually a whole series of Mario RPGs. This is the first. The second is Mario & Luigi Superstar saga. The third- partners in time The 4th- bowser’s inside story And there are even more than that… EDIT: I see that just after this in your video you mentioned those games. While still not DIRECT sequels, they are Mario RPGs and that’s enough for me to enjoy them a lot. I mean, a direct sequel would be nice if done well. But some games are best as just one entry… take Pokémon for example. It should have stopped adding Pokémon past gen 4 but nope. Now you have fa base splitting problems like dexit…
@SuperSeaguard i appreciate that. I published this one a year and a half ago not knowing it would blow up in the algorithm a year later. The remake announcement surprised me. I actually reacted to it in my Direct Stream haha.
@@Nerdporeal nice. I actually got a SNES and this game in response to one episode of an animation by one AlvinEarthworm called Super Mario Bros. Z because I HAD to see where those characters came from. I highly recommend it. I’m not going to spoil anything… but you should watch all that he made to the end (it’s unfinished but the fight scenes are killer).
I prefer a sequel or followup but a remake as long as it is faithful in its look and content with some additional areas added perhaps. If only Squeenix would consider it.
@@Nerdporeal 1:26: Not helping that, a year prior to Yoshi's Island, but a year after the Live-Action Film, Donkey Kong on Game Boy says that Mario went to the Mushroom Kingdom by foot, during a chase with Donkey Kong, meaning the overall origin of Mario going to the Mushroom Kingdom by a secret warp zone has been discarded by Miyamoto, and is not canon.
So many cherished memories with this game... I remember seeing previews in a Nintendo magazine, and at the time I was young enough that I didn't understand that games had release dates and that they'd advertise them ahead of time, so of course I see pictures for this awesome looking new Mario game, grab my birthday money stash, and tell my grand dad "next time you go into town, take me with you, I want to buy a new game!" This went on for nearly 4 months😅... I remember walking in and out of so many wal marts, k-marts, kb toy stores, circuit city's... basically any place I thought might sell video games, I'd go in and ask "do you guys have Super Mario RPG?" but it just hadn't been released yet. FINALLY one day a store associate slid open a drawer and pulled out the game, I was SO STOKED! So just imagine my confusion when I get home, start the game, go to jump on my first Goomba in mushroom way and I'm taken to... a battle screen...? I had fun with the battles, but in my mind, the point of a Mario game was still to simply reach the end of each level, and initiating fights with the enemies just got in the way of that... so without meaning to, my first play through of Mario RPG was an accidental low level run, and let me tell you... to a first time RPG player that was BRUTAL haha. Luckily, I think Nintendo had this in mind, as it's a fairly easy game... but still, I remember being stuck on Bowyer in Forest Maze for legit 2 months. I'd come home from school each day, give it a good 3 or 4 attempts (yes, I'd have to sit through that long cut scene before the battle each time), only to lose and think "I guess I'm just not skilled enough yet, there must be something I'm missing? Oh well, try again!" I lucked out in that I went hunting for items in the forest to stock up before the fight, and fought enough normal enemies to level up, though I still didn't understand that a low level was what was holding me back. Due to that experience with the Bowyer fight... the bosses in this game took on an intimidating, almost mythical, image in my mind... and each time I knew a boss battle was coming I'd be filled with so much anxiety and anticipation thinking "oh no... is this going to be another couple months of grinding?" For the most part, that answer was no... because again... the game was designed with RPG novices in mind. However, I did get caught up for another month on the Axem Rangers fight. Wow was it satisfying to finally beat them, because that was another fight with a long cutscene in front of it haha. I was 10 years old when I first beat the game. After that, I bought the strategy guide and read about the 100 jumps challenge. Off and on, over the course of the next 15 years... I'd sit down and try for that stupid jump challenge lol, no joke, I didn't finally get it until I was 25 years old and it was by far the toughest accomplishment I'd achieved in gaming up until that point... but wow was the armor you unlock well worth it (despite essentially breaking the game haha) but I didn't care! I put in the work! During the lock downs for the pandemic, a friend and I got on a discord call and both started a play through of this game together. It was great going back through it together and re experiencing all the quirky characters and challenges, and wow what a great sound track too! This is already getting long, but I appreciate your video and the time you put into it, nice work!
Thanks for sharing that story. I was in a similar boat getting completely destroyed my initial playthrough. I rented it originally so i actually played someone else's save state so i saw the final levels pretty early. Just the idea of fighting Bowser in the very beginning and then him allying with you just blew my friggin mind. Loved all the new characters and was pretty epic that had everything a Super Mario fan would love while bringing something new to the experience. Hope they can make a proper sequel one day
What's interesting is how this contrasts with my experience... I liked Mario games but was kind of bad at platformers and didn't have great reflexes. I did better at stuff like SimCity 2000 or Civilization, but found them not engaging enough in terms of story. So when I finally tried Super Mario RPG, I figured out that my reflexes didn't matter as much and all I had to do was find equipment and level up to get through the game, that some enemies were weak to certain attacks, etc. I found it was grinding levels and noticing patterns that was rewarded here, and that I got a much better story than simulation or strategy games. After that, I subscribed to Nintendo Power and got really interested in the hype for Pokémon.
@@jeremyandrews3292 Thanks for sharing that, I had trouble getting used to platformers at first but as I played them more and more, they became my preferred genre.
Sounds like my first time playing _Superstar Saga_ , it was my first RPG and I didn't understand that you need to fight enemies to level up. It took me an ungodly number of tries to defeat the final boss over the course of months.
Do you think it will be a strict remake or will there be more to it, like additional areas, dialogue, story beats? I am kinda hoping for it while maintaining everything that was in the original game and just building off of it...
This was my introduction into turn based RPG's as a kid. It was my first RPG period. It reigned as my favorite game of all time for 2 decades. I still love it even though I wouldn't call it my favorite game anymore. I still hum the music to myself quite often.
Nice, thanks for sharing that. I still hear sounds in other Square games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI that still takes me back to this one.
Something I like about your style is that you don’t sound like a wannabe newscaster with a forced cadence and plastic delivery. You sound like a regular guy, organically speaking about something you’re very interested in and knowledgeable of. This was a great retrospective, and a really accessible watch.
I really appreciate that.. Thank you. I did several other retrospectives in this style covering other Nintendo titles. Hope you enjoy those too at your leisure
I like how you kinda framed this as if it was a review of the game straight from 1996, by doing stuff like calling the characters the names they were called at the time or in this game only, pretty neat!
Princess Toadstool. I still call her that. I try to be as period authentic as I can be. Thanks. There are other retrospectives done like this on the channel at your leisure
snes best system ever your cute story reminds me of my final fantasy 2 which i beat at 7 yo. i used to pray at dinner holding my hands like cecil and rosa
Haha. Nice, thanks for sharing Matt. I didnt play "2" until i was in college and was interested because of the familiar music, and then the game sold itself...
I never returned my cartridge from Blockbuster 😅 and I gladly never sold it when I was addicted to drugs like I did all my other rare games from Nintendo…. Now I can wait for Super Mario RPG and have both in my collection! 😊
Some games were always out at the rental store I used to go to (Lion Video in Chicago) probably for that very reason lol. Sorry to hear that you tackled addiction, hope Mario RPG helped. It was the shining light of my year.
Woolsey regularly did a fantastic job making a localized game. I have a hard time enjoying his localized games with updated translations, which regularly remove the appealing charm of his games. Localization is not translation, guys!
This is such a gem, and while the later Paper Mario games are sequels, I'd love to get a traditional JRPG sequel of this classic. Also the soundtrack lives rent free in my head
Other notes, If you leave one of the blue crew mates alive during the Johnny Jones battle, he'll never go to the 1v1 part of the battle and you can easily beat him.
Paper Mario was originally teased as Super Mario RPG 2 back in the 90s but the later PM games are not sequels...you will have to elaborate on that. Agreed on the latter and yep the OST does the same to me to this day. My favorites are what I put in the opening montage
Actually the reason for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was basically Nintendo wanted to get into the RPG genre whereas Square Enix (aka Square Soft) was struggling in the Western Market.
In the remake, when Mario goes behind the curtain in Booster's Tower, I hope that instead of looking 8-bit, Mario comes out looking like his original sprite from the Snes version
Dude, that is a great idea! I hope it comes to pass. Do you think it will be a strictly faithful remake or do you think they will expand the areas and add more stuff?
@@Nerdporealhonestly I'm expecting a remake in the same vein as Link's Awakening: a few minor tweaks for the updated hardware but otherwise a faithful reproduction. Although in keeping with Peach's modern image as a competent protagonist and not a damsel, it's likely that she will get some new offensive FP abilities.
This game was so much fun and I hope it makes the way to the switch snes section soon. I was surprised to find out that bowser & mario had to team up in the game. Also I loved the power ranger reference with the axem rangers. I loved this game so much I played it so many times I stayed up until maybe 1 or 2 am to finish certain parts i was at until I was able to save. If I’m able to play this again I’ll try to beat the hidden boss culex
Honestly this game is why I am trying to keep my Wii alive. Having it as Wii retro collection was (to memory) the last releases of the game and finding working copys has been difficult. Sadly it's stuck in copyright (I think that's the term) hell between Nintendo and Square.
I have this on Wii U, the SNES mini if it still works, I tried to play this emulated on SNES9X and the performance was just awful. Are Mallow and Geno and all the original RPG characters copyrighted to Square hence why we never seen them in any future Mario games?
This such an excellent video. Thank you very much for making it. I also remember going to the video store hoping against hope that it would be in stock. It was such a surprising and fun game for 8-year old me to stumble upon. I very much hope the remake does well enough to kick off a new franchise, or at least a sequel.
Thank you so much for the kind words and sharing your experience with Mario RPG. I agree, I hope the remake does the original game justice and a new franchise now that Mario and Luigi Alphadream is kaput. We shall see....
I think I would’ve liked this game a lot more if I didn’t complete the Mother series right before starting it 😢 if I played this game first, no doubt I would love it dearly but after the Mother series.. I feel bitter 😅
I liked Earthbound even though i first played it on wii vc. It is what it is. Nostalgia. I like mario rpg more but still adore earthbound. Why wont Nintendo try to work out a way to release Mother 3
"Imagine it's the mid-90's again." Sigh... parents won't buy me another new video game until it's my Bday or Christmas... Looks like time to re...NOPE! Still out. MMX3? MMX2 for SNES? Nope! Out.
At the rental place we went to, X2 was always out, didn't even carry x3. I didn't play those until the X anniversary collection. Luckily Mario rpg was mostly in and I played the whole thing
Mario Party was Yasunori Mitsuda of Chrono Trigger and Xenogears. He and Yoko Shimomura worked with Nobuo Uematsu and Square and probably had some great influence while still being distinct in their own right. Plus i love both osts....
@@Nerdporeal it was more like a 120 bucks if I remember correctly, Toys R'us in Yuma, Arizona, they even made me disclose my parent's phone number just to make sure I didn't steal money to get it...
Musical notes puzzle? Yosters Island had the rhythm race....which was tough to master and not the best. Tadpole Pond had the tadpole music staff game that allowed you to upgrade the Juice Bar Membership...
1:04:30 Hinopio, His name is also a pun. Hi as in fire, Kinopio as in mushroom or Toad's japanese name. Which is why he looks like another Toad but with flame pattern and living in a volcano. or Hinoyama (volcano) and Kinopio put together. Something along those lines.
This and Final Fantasy II for the SNES are the perfect games to introduce a kid to the rpg genre (and each a masterpiece in its own right)...not that garbage Mystic Quest. P.S. I still can't do the 100 jumps to get the Super Suit...the Attack Scarf has always been good enough for me.
Welp, we officially DO have a follow up to this game! Not a sequel unfortunately but a brand new remake….really gonna end up making me want to buy a switch 😭 This and SoM were just 2 games in a class of their own
I remember being around 10 years old.. going to the local mom and pop video rental store every Friday after school and renting Super Mario RPG for a solid month straight, praying to whatever higher power that my game file was still on the list of 3 available slots the game allowed..kids today will never experience that anxiety and it shows
I used to pray or hope on the way to the video rental store, that the game was in and available. Sometimes it wasn't and would break my heart. My 11 year old self was obsessed with this one during summer vacation...
@@Nerdporeal Same! I remember seeing the rangers for the first time in game, and at this time Power Rangers was in full effect and I was one of those crazed kid fans, and I literally think that was the first time my mind had been blown in a videogame as far as forth wall breaking
It comes out right before my birthday. I definitely plan to cover it. Hope you check out the rest of the channel. Mario 64 vid i did after this one. Thanks for watchin!
You must be mistaking me for someone else. I only speak Basic...or the common tongue depending on the franchise. Your question seems like a personality I haven't encountered since......
Well the remake is coming so there might be more down the line..... Hope you check out the rest of the channel and find something that interests you. Stay Nerdporeal!
My first educational game was Mario too with Marios Missing.....a future retrospective possibly. Agreed on that take....simple and accessible to newer players.
I never played the original and I'm not really interested in the remake (jrpgs just aren't my cup of tea) But thanks for this. Now I can understand a little better on the hype. Geno still feels like a whatever character for smash bros even after watching this. I was more invested in seeing different sides of Peach and Bowser this early on when the Mario universe was still relatively fresh
Geno is your noble mysterious character who brings additional stakes to the game. This conflict goes beyond Marios world and makes it the more reason to get invested in the story along with the charm of all the characters and their resolutions. It is totally worth it if you decide to play. You won't regret it
I appreciate that. I've done other videos like this. Mario 64, the original 2d games, and the Zeldas up to Ocarina. DK one too. Hope you enjoy them at your leisure
